A negative self-concept is a core aspect of depressive syndromes and disturbed functioning in general. A potential mechanism for the child's acquisition of negative attitudes or feelings is verbal discourse in daily life whereby parents label and critically evaluate the child. Verbal discourse involving attributions about and labeling of each other are examined in the ongoing interaction between bipolar, unipolar, and normal control mothers and their sons and daughters. The sample consists of 61 families from the larger study of affectively ill mothers and their older (mean age - 6.18 years) and younger (mean age - 33.03 months) children. Data were based on videotaped interactions of mother, older child, and younger child during 30 minutes of interaction in semistructured and unstructured situations. The preponderance of labeling statements came from mother to child. Significant effects of diagnostic group were found both in data using the family as the unit of analysis and in mother to child statements. There is a relative excess of negative and mixed (which includes negative) behavior for bipolar families. For the families of unipolars, there is a relative excess of neutral affect and a relative lack of negative affect. Differences were found relating to gender of child, especially for mother to older child statements and especially for the bipolar families. For example, for statements by mother to older child, mothers of older daughters were high on percent positive judgments, and mothers of older sons were high on number and percent of negative judgments, number of mixed judgments, and number and percent of mixed affects. Older sons were high on number and percent of positive reactions.